Aidan O’Shea spent the first decade of his Mayo career trying in vain to chase down national titles – but on Sunday, he could win a third Division One League medal in just seven years.
All this talk of counties not wanting to win the Allianz Football League, O’Shea has known enough of the lean times not to scoff at these opportunities.
When Mayo beat Kerry to win the 2019 Division One crown, it was the county’s first victory in a Croke Park final in 11 attempts – having previously lost seven All-Ireland deciders and three league finals on the bounce.
Mayo added another league title in 2023, while there was also a loss to Kerry in the 2022 final.
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“It gives us a chance to win a national medal, which are hard come by,” says O’Shea, who made his Mayo senior debut in 2009. “Probably for the first 10 years of my career, I didn’t win any national title. And then I’ve won two in the last couple of years, so this is a great opportunity to go and grab another one.”
But just seven days after this weekend’s league final, Kevin McStay’s Mayo will host Sligo in a Connacht SFC quarter-final at MacHale Park. The absence of a sufficient gap between the end of the league and the start of the championship has led to some teams prioritising one competition over the other.
“I think the first thing is that everybody should want to win a National League title,” adds O’Shea. “It’s obviously the secondary competition in our sport and we should all want to win it. And I think it should be given a spot in the calendar that’s fair.
“Years ago when there was that big gap between league and championship, the league final was a big deal and teams really wanted to win it.
“So, I think it’s something that we need to look at. I think there’s probably an acknowledgment for the likes of sponsors and everybody else, teams and players, that we should be putting it in a position in the calendar that people can go at it full tilt and not have to be worrying about anything else outside of it.”
When O’Shea looks around the Mayo dressingroom these days, there aren’t too many players left from that 2019 league-winning team.
Matthew Ruane, Diarmuid O’Connor, Fergal Boland and Paddy Durcan remain involved – but others like Keith Higgins, Chris Barrett, Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle and Andy Moran have all since stepped away.
Over the winter, two of O’Shea’s closest comrades also left – Rob Hennelly announcing his retirement and Cillian O’Connor opting to take a year out.
“It’s a very different dynamic,” says O’Shea, who in 2024 delivered one of his best seasons in the green and red. “No Rob, no Cillian, two of my good mates on and off the pitch, it’s quite strange that they’re not there. I think it’s just kind of adjusting to that environment, there’s a newer, younger group.
“It’s exciting in a way, though, you are kind of hanging around with lads born in 2004, 2005, which is a bit mad. It’s definitely an adjustment and trying to find your spot in the dressingroom as well and kind of understand your role.”
O’Shea followed up his stellar season with Mayo – which earned him an All-Star nomination – with a strong campaign for Breaffy in the club championship.
He was married in August and planned to go away on an extended honeymoon at the start of 2025. But the fire remained to go again with Mayo, so after spending three weeks in Australia and stopping off in the Maldives on the way home, it was straight back to business.
“It was great to get a break and come back refreshed and ready to go,” he says. “I was happy to come back and play. With me, for some reason, it seems to be [a thing where people are] waiting for me to say I’m not playing any more.
“The reality is I’m only 34 years of age and there are players playing high-level sport a lot longer into their thirties and if you look after yourself right there’s no reason why that can’t continue.”
And the dream of winning Sam Maguire, that remains alive too.
“It’s definitely something that you still have ambitions to do,” he adds. “I’m obviously playing for a long time, I think I still have a lot to offer to the group. I think Mayo are on a good trajectory and I’m going to try and be a part of that for as long as I can and try and help that.
“I think they’re on their way to achieving good things over the next couple of years, so for me, I enjoy it, enjoy the environment and I feel I have something to offer. That’s kind of why I’m still there and why I love doing what I’m doing.”
Mayo-Kerry games have always been a little bit special in the O’Shea household as his parents hail from the Kingdom, but there is another layer to Sunday’s final as his wife, Kristin McKenzie, is from Tralee.
“The Kerry-Mayo thing has always been strong in our house and then obviously me marrying a Kerry woman added to that a little bit as well. But it’s always enjoyable, it pulls the family together. There’s a bit of fun in the family WhatsApp groups this week.”
- Aidan O’Shea was speaking in advance of Sunday’s Allianz Football League finals at Croke Park. The Division 1 final between Mayo and Kerry on Sunday at 4pm will see the new Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh Memorial Cup presented to the winning team for the first time.
